Remembering Andy

It’s a sad day in Mayberry. That’s what my former news boss John Harris wrote this morning in an email from Wisconsin where he works as a television station manager. John and I are both big fans of The Andy Griffith Show. We’re both hurting like a lot of you as a result of Andy Griffith’s death at age 86.

As a child growing up in North Carolina I remember watching the Andy Griffith Show with great pride. My hometown of Morganton was a lot like Mayberry. My family members were big fans of the Danny Thomas Show which gave Andy his start. It was such a delight to see all the characters of Mayberry come together in the Andy Griffith Show which began in 1960 and ruled the ratings at CBS for eight seasons.

As a rookie television reporter for WRAL I recall doing a series on trying to find the characters of Mayberry in real-life North Carolina. Sure enough, I found a barber like Floyd in Elm City, a mechanic nicknamed Goober in Spring Hope and a tenor like Barney who couldn’t stay on pitch at a Baptist church in Bailey. That was the beauty of the CBS series. It was about characters Andy had known in the mountains and foothills of Surry County.

I still enjoy watching episodes of the Andy Griffith Show. They always make me laugh and I always learn something new. How about you?